


dressing rooms can be torture

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Child Neglect, Coming Out, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Lance (Voltron), Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 15:59:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14358798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: keith doesn’t like his body. his dad doesn’t care enough to know.lance is there to help him.





	dressing rooms can be torture

**Author's Note:**

> tw for general dysphoria, anxiety about coming out, and child neglect

keith hated his body.

you’d think he’d be used to it, considering the clothes he wore clung to his body tighter than thin cotton on a rainy day, but that was unfortunately not the case.

and sometimes your dad notices that, hey, how long has it been since you last bought a bra? and you feel sick because you’re wearing two b cup bras even though you’re a solid double d as a makeshift binder and you can’t ever breathe properly but that’s okay because at least you don’t feel so CURVY-

but you say something anyways and two hours later you’re in a dressing room staring at the inevitable with an armful of bras. 

keith bit his lip and held back tears as he pulled on, hooked, adjusted, and pulled off what seemed like an endless amount until he could hold them back any longer. his eyes were red and watery, two ugly cherry colored contradictory statements to his stoic face.

“okay,” his dad said awkwardly. “you wanna.. take my credit card and buy them yourself?”

god. the icing on top of the cake. his lip quivered and he hid his face from his father. his father, who wasn’t home half of the time and couldn’t be bothered to talk to his son enough to figure out that he wasn’t his daughter.

you know, for once he thought he was trying. to care, that is. he took him out to buy something for him- something that he really REALLY didn’t want, but something nonetheless. but he guessed that was wrong, because he refused to pay for it himself.

his face burned with humiliation as the cashier attempted to make small talk with him, not realizing that the bra in her hands that she was so carelessly putting into a plastic bag was the bane of keith’s existence.

he glared out the window on the way home, the stress of the day finally getting to him and forcing him into a dissociated state.

when he got home, he slammed his bedroom door and grabbed another two old sports bras, and threw them on along with some old t-shirt. he covered his mirror with a sheet an picked up his phone to call lance.

“hey,” lance said, picking up the phone almost immediately.

“hey,” keith replied. “can i come over tonight?” he asked, trying not to sound as desperate as he actually was.

“you came over last night,” lance pointed out. 

“i know,” keith said. “...dad’s home, so it’s not a problem if i can’t.”

keith’s dad was always out, leaving him to his own devices four out of seven days a week. most night he stayed with lance, other nights he just braved his empty house alone. lance’s parents were happy to take their son’s boyfriend in whenever they could, but keith knew he couldn’t live with them all the time.

“is everything okay?” 

of course lance would know. he ALWAYS knew something was wrong, because he was lance. keith wished he was with him right then so he could kiss him. tears welled in his eyes again. he sniffed.

“i’ve just had a bad day,” he whispered, trying not to sob. he could practically hear lance melting.

“aww, poor guy. hang on, i’ll tell mami you’re coming over. you want dinner? we made lasagna.” 

“god i love you,” keith said. “i’m okay, we had late lunch. thank you so much, lance.”

“of course, baby. be safe on your way here, okay?”

“okay. i will.” he sniffed again. “i love you.”

“i love you too.” 

when he emerged from his room, he saw his dad putting away some groceries. he blinked at him.

“hey. i’m going to lance’s.” his father jumped.

“haha, you scared me!” keith didn’t think it was funny. “be back by monday, okay?” he gave him a warm smile and pat his back.

it used to bother keith that he could get away so easily. his dad was absent way too often. lately, though, he’d started to consider it a blessing in disguise. really, he was lucky that he got to spend so much time with his loved ones, right?

when he arrived at lance’s house, he was met with bear hugs and kisses on the cheek. at the center of it all was his boyfriend, his safe haven, his lance.

“hey,” he breathed. lance reached down and squeezed his hand.

“hey.” keith felt better already. “you wanna go cuddle and tell me what’s up? or we could play mario! i already made us some hot chocolate,” he continued to ramble as he took keith back to his room. 

 

once they were settled on his bed, lance laying in keith’s lap, having his hair pet while watching some crime show lance would not shut up about and drinking hot cocoa, he finally started to open up.

“i was just.. trying on some new.. y’know...” he trailed off.

“chest supporters?” lance offered.

“yeah. chest supporters. and i just started crying. i wish i could just have your body.” lance’s brow furrowed, and he stared at keith for a beat before laughing. keith blinked at him. “what? what’s so funny?”

“nothing, it’s just..” he giggled. “i don’t like my body either, keith. bad dysphoria das are something that not even hrt or surgery can cure. it’s one of the many perils of being trans.” he laid back, gesturing for keith to lay on his chest.

they stayed like that for a minute, in peaceful silence as keith tried to turn over what lance was saying. the fact that lance felt the same way he did even though he possessed keith’s dream figure was baffling to him. i mean, the guy was on three months of testosterone and had already undergone top surgery last year (that was certainly a journey that keith thought fondly about). he couldn’t help but be jealous of his boyfriend. his family was so supportive of him, and-

and keith was crying again.

“aw, sweetie,” lance tutted, sitting back up and pulling keith on his lap. he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and rubbed his back, sushing him and rocking him side-to-side. keith balled his fists pathetically into his shirt and sobbed out a watery “thank you.”

once he had finished, everything else came out. how he felt about his dad. the fact that he had been binding unsafely. how he wanted to have what lance had, wanted to go on testosterone and have surgery and legally change his name and have a family that supported him. 

“okay, well, i have some good news,” lance said softly. “you already do have a family that supports you. your family is here, baby. you’re one of us.” keith sniffed and shrugged. 

“as for the whole binder thing, i do wish you had told me sooner. i have a couple of old ones that i saved after my surgery.” he frowned. “i thought you had one, so i never offered, but... i could give them to you now?” 

“i’d like that,” keith said. “thank you so much.” lance grinned and kissed his forehead.

“of course!” he rested his head on keith’s shoulder. “i love you.” 

“i love you too,” keith said- and he really, really meany it.

the two decided that keith would tell his dad about him being trans the next day, and lance would be there for emotional support- and protection, in the event that something bad happened. but that night they just stayed in bed and snuggled with each other.

everything was safe.

————————————————

“so, lance is transgender, too?” he asked. lance blinked in surprise.

“wh- yes? i thought you knew?” keith sputtered. his dad laughed.

“no, i genuinely thought he was...” he seemed at a loss for words.

“cis?” lance offered. he nodded.

“yeah. that.” he turned to keith. “listen, i’m glad you told me this. i know that i haven’t been.. well, i haven’t been there for you much. i’m not the best dad.” he sighed. “i’m proud of you, princess- er. i probably shouldn’t call you that anymore. what’d you say you wanted to be called?”

“i didn’t,” his son responded, smiling. “it’s keith.”


End file.
